Call of Duty veteran Clayster will try his luck in free agency after splitting from Carolina Royal Ravens on July 7 following a disappointing stint in the Call of Duty League.
The Royal Ravens announced the 32-year-old’s departure on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week. “An icon of the scene and a driving force behind our season, we want to thank Clay for his time,” the organization wrote in its post. Following that post, Clayster didn’t mince words regarding his departure in his own exit statement yesterday. “Got a lot to say but there’s really no point. Gotta be more selfish and play better if I wanna keep my spot on the teams,” he said. He added later he’d also be open to non-playing roles.
His official departure was hinted at a few days prior. In Clayster’s post-event tweet following Major Four, he said on X/Twitter he was planning on taking time away from competing instead of “spending so much time and energy on something that isn’t yielding any results,” but said he still loves the game and playing professionally.
This CDL move comes just a week after Carolina’s near-immediate exit from Major Four in Burbank, California. Clayster and the Ravens struggled in the Major Four qualifiers, with the team’s slow start resulting in a lower bracket start for the main event. They wouldn’t make it any further; Toronto Ultra wiped out Clayster and the Ravens in a 3-0 stomp in the first round, ending their seasons promptly.
The event ends Clayster’s fourth spell in the CDL and a near-two-year stint with Carolina, during which he and the squad couldn’t manage a top-four finish in the top flight CoD competition. Up next is the CDL Championships in Texas, set to begin July 17.
Should Clayster fail to lock in a CDL roster slot on a top-eight attendee, he’ll need to hold out hope for the Esports World Cup for MW3 which kicks off in mid-August—leaving just six weeks for Clayster to find a home in time for the Riyadh event.
